Hodgepodge

I thought I'd post a picture of the cashew fruit, which I'd never seen in the U.S. The cashew nut is inside the curved green appendage on the outside of the fruit. Luckily, I did not try to extract the nut, as I now have read that there is a substance inside the green part that causes a skin rash. Here people eat the fruit in addition to the nuts and also drink the juice.
















This past week the rest of the kids at Liberdade received their own knitting needles. By the way, I’d like to officially thank Carol at Shuttles, Needles and Hooks in Cary, NC for the discount she gave me on knitting supplies for the kids when I was there last year. It was rewarding not only to have the kids stay after their snack to ask for help with their knitting, but also to visit one home on Thursday evening (I stayed overnight in Liberdade to teach an English workshop to the teenagers/young adults on Thursday night) and see the youngest boy sitting in the kitchen, concentrating on his knitting, not sitting in front of the TV, like he usually would be doing. I think we have an opportunity to use needlework to reach the kids in a new way, help them build up self-esteem, etc. and because of this potential, I think, I am experiencing more difficulties.

Last week I went to see the film “The Pursuit of Happyness” with Will Smith. I was rushing to get to the theater on time because I’d stopped downtown to try to get my haircut and ended up spending two hours in the salon. Thankfully, I ran into my friend exiting the same metro train at the mall, and we had a few minutes to spare before the film started. I think that I perceived that story differently than I previously would have because of my Brazilian experience...I found it quite tragic that the protagonist didn’t get any substantial help from family or friends. With the interconnectedness and interdependency of individuals and families in Brazilian society, I was thinking such a story would be rare here, but then I realized that there are homeless people here, despite this interconnectedness.

In a discussion this past week, I made a brief reference to the Bible story of Abraham and Isaac to a colleague who soon amazed me by recounting in great detail the entire story up to the sacrifice. (This woman had not previously demonstrated a major knowledge of the Bible.) At this point another colleague said, “I don’t know that part because that’s when I fell asleep.” I was trying to understand if she meant she feel asleep during church or what, and then finally I realized they were talking about a movie version that is frequently shown on television here. When it's faithful to the true story, what a great way to get the message out.

Hopefully with repeated treatments and my new haircut, the lice are history. I forgot to mention previously that the difference between the American & Brazilian instructions for combating lice is a typical example of cultural and stylistic differences between the two countries. The Brazilian instructions say use the fine-tooth comb, apply the medicated lotion to your scalp, and soak all your hairbrushes and things in very hot water for several minutes. I looked up some instructions from a few American web sites, and they were much more extreme (probably unnecessarily so): wash in hot water all bedsheets and clothes used within two days before you started the treatment and dry on high heat, soak all combs/brushes in alcohol, vacuum the floor and furniture, etc.

Starting the Saturday-before-last, the shower in my apartment was leaking a lot, so much so that I had to turn off the bathroom water valve after each use of the water in the bathroom. I spent a lot of time and experienced a lot of frustration last week waiting for the handyman. He’s such a nice, efficient, cheap source of assistance that it’s impossible to be aggravated once he finally shows up, even though he may have failed to show up for one or more scheduled visits without calling to cancel. I finally got the major leak in the shower fixed on Saturday, thank goodness.

Lesson of the week: If somebody says to you “This is probably not the best time to tell you this...” take them at their word and ask them to tell you at another time. I was already very upset and sharing my pain with a colleague when that particular phrase was uttered. What followed did, indeed, only make matters worse. One of the hardest things for me to deal with here is feeling misinterpreted or misunderstood, which, unfortunately, when you’re a stranger trying to live and work in a foreign land, is bound to happen somewhat regularly. It reminds me of my confusion when I was first exposed to "Black" society as a young adult and felt I was being judged on a mysterious set of rules that I hadn't learned.

I know that my foreign friends and colleagues in the U.S. complained about how Americans would often issue meaningless, vague invitations--“We should do lunch sometime.” and would never follow-up on it. I feel like I am missing a critical link in the friendship chain here, but I’m not sure how much is cultural and how much is just me. People are super-friendly, even giving their phone numbers but not making specific plans or invitations. I guess my expectation here (perhaps unrealistic, but one cultural guidebook agrees with me) is that if somebody really wants to do something, they will issue a specific invitation. I don’t know how much of what I perceive as missing is me not feeling comfortable inviting myself to somebody’s house (I have done it a few times, though).

I’m trying to discern what I should do next year, and was hit by the revelation that I would need to begin all over again even if I returned to the U.S.--having to address the needs of shelter, clothing and transportation in addition to a job. I’m not sure why that was such a surprise, but I guess I hadn’t really spent any major time in the U.S. with my new limited amount of possessions (other than the 4 months I was waiting for my visa). Here in Brazil it’s different to live with very few possessions because this was not previously my “reality,” but I have a feeling in the U.S., should I return next year, it will be quite a different experience.

Today was a planning meeting for the "educators" at both projects, and it went pretty well. One of the exercises was to tell who you pretended (or wanted) to be when you were a kid and then dress up as that character (using a few costumes that were made available). I chose Jeanie from I Dream of Jeanie, and my colleagues were various superheroes and some other characters with whom I was not familiar.

By the way, I am very glad to be getting over a cold. I was happy to be able to spend some time with a Canadian acquaintance here, who, unfortunately, is moving next month. She has also lent me several good books in English that I've enjoyed reading.

Tomorrow is a holiday, and I'm scheduled to go with some of my churchmates to the zoo, which I've never visited here. Also, this Friday is another attempt to have a gathering of foreigners here in Belo Horizonte. We'll see how it goes.